JERSEY FOOTLIGHTS

JERSEY FOOTLIGHTS; Can-Do Architects

By Michelle Falkenstein

Published: November 4, 2001

The publicity material is full of puns, for example, calling the event ''The Uncanniest Show On Earth.'' But the proceedings are no joke; organizers expect that the so-called Canstruction competition will raise 20,000 pounds of food for the Community Food Bank of New Jersey in Hillside, a group especially in need because of its participation in World Trade Center relief efforts.

At the Newark Museum on Wednesday, from 5 p.m. to midnight, teams from eight New Jersey architecture firms will build elaborate structures from canned and boxed food. Winners will be selected in four categories -- best meal, best use of labels, structural integrity and jurors' favorite -- and will compete nationally with winners from 50 cities nationwide.

Last year, a team from Nadaskay/Kopelson Architects in Morristown used three tons of canned food to built an eight-foot-high Japanese teahouse, below. Their entry won the prize for structural integrity and took top honors at the nationals.

Other past entries include a Taj Mahal and a New Jersey license plate 16 feet long.

''It's a way to use our profession to further the awareness of world hunger,'' said Seth Leeb, an architect in Morris Plains who is president of the Newark and Suburban Section of the American Institute of Architects. The group is sponsoring the New Jersey event for the third year, along with the Society of Design Administration.

This year's structures will be displayed at the museum through Nov. 11. Several award-winning pieces will be reassembled at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark from Jan. 22 to 28.

Eventually, the food used to build the structures will be donated to the food bank. Price of admission to the event is a can of food. Michelle Falkenstein